Privacy Policy
Calectasia Counselling – ABN: 86935470583
1. Our Commitment to Your Privacy
Calectasia Counselling (referred to as “we”, “us”, or “our”) is a telehealth counselling service committed to protecting your privacy and the confidentiality of your personal and health information. We understand that the information you share with us is highly sensitive and requires the highest level of care and discretion.
We are bound by the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs). As a provider of a health service, we are also subject to specific state and territory health privacy legislation, such as the Health Records Act 2001 (Vic), which impose additional obligations on the handling of health information.
This Privacy Policy outlines how we manage your personal information, particularly your sensitive health information, and our commitment to maintaining confidentiality and security.
2. The Information We Collect
We collect personal information that is reasonably necessary to provide our counselling services and manage our business. This includes both general personal information and “sensitive information,” which is given greater protection under the law.
2.1 Types of Information We Collect:
General Personal Information:
Your name, address, phone number, and email address.
Date of birth and gender.
Emergency contact details.
Billing and payment information.
Information about how you use our website, such as your IP address, browser type, and pages visited, collected through cookies and other tracking technologies.
Sensitive Information (Health Information):
Information about your physical and psychological health, including your mental health history, symptoms, and diagnoses.
Information about the health services we provide to you.
Family and social history as it relates to your mental health and wellbeing.
Details of any previous counselling, therapy, or medical treatments.
Information related to your expressed wishes about future health services.
We will only collect sensitive information with your explicit consent or where required or authorised by law.
2.2 How We Collect Information:
We collect your personal information directly from you when you:
Create an account on our website.
Book an appointment for a counselling session.
Participate in a telehealth session with a counsellor.
Complete intake forms, surveys, or questionnaires.
Contact us via email, phone, or our website’s chat function.
Provide feedback or a testimonial.
In certain circumstances, we may collect information from a third party, such as your referring doctor or another health professional, but only with your consent or where required by law.
3. Purpose for Collecting, Holding, and Using Your Information
We collect, hold, and use your personal and sensitive information for the following purposes:
To provide you with high-quality and clinically appropriate counselling services.
To manage your appointments and billing.
To maintain accurate and comprehensive clinical notes in accordance with professional and legal obligations.
To communicate with you about your sessions, provide resources, and respond to your inquiries.
To comply with our legal and professional obligations, including maintaining records for a minimum period as required by law.
To protect the safety of you or others where we have a legal duty to disclose information.
4. Confidentiality and Disclosure
Your privacy and confidentiality are paramount. We will not use or disclose your personal or health information for any purpose other than the primary purpose for which it was collected, except in the following, very limited circumstances:
With Your Consent: We will only disclose your information to other healthcare providers, family members, or third parties with your express, written consent.
To Avert a Serious Threat: If your counsellor believes there is a serious threat to your life, health, or safety, or to the life, health, or safety of another person, they may be required by law to disclose relevant information to a third party (e.g., emergency services, police).
Legal or Regulatory Obligation: We may be required to disclose your information by a court order, subpoena, or to a regulatory body (e.g., the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency – AHPRA).
To our IT and Service Providers: We may share de-identified or limited personal information with third-party service providers (e.g., for secure data storage, payment processing, or technical support) who assist us in providing our services. These providers are subject to strict confidentiality agreements.
We will not sell, rent, or trade your personal or health information.
5. Data Security
We take extensive reasonable steps to protect your personal and sensitive information from misuse, interference, loss, unauthorised access, modification, or disclosure. Our security measures include:
Secure Telehealth Platform: We use a secure, end-to-end encrypted telehealth platform that meets Australian health industry standards for confidentiality.
Secure Data Storage: All electronic client records and clinical notes are stored on secure, encrypted servers located in Australia.
Access Controls: Access to client information is restricted to the specific counsellor(s) involved in your care and authorised administrative staff on a need-to-know basis.
Physical Security: Hard copies of records are stored in locked cabinets in a secure location.
De-identification and Destruction: We securely destroy or de-identify personal information when it is no longer required for any purpose for which it was collected, in accordance with our legal and professional record-keeping obligations.
6. Anonymity and Pseudonymity
Where it is lawful and practicable, you have the option of dealing with us anonymously or by using a pseudonym. However, due to the nature of counselling and our professional obligations, it is not possible to provide counselling services without using your real identity.
7. Accessing and Correcting Your Information
You have a right to request access to the personal and health information we hold about you and to request that we correct it if you believe it is inaccurate, incomplete, or out-of-date.
To make an access or correction request, please contact our Privacy Officer using the details below. We will respond to your request within a reasonable time and, in most cases, will provide you with access to your information. We may decline your request in certain circumstances, such as where providing access would pose a serious threat to your life or health. In such cases, we will provide you with a written explanation.
8. Complaints
If you believe we have breached our privacy obligations under the Privacy Act or other relevant legislation, you may lodge a complaint with us.
Please contact our Privacy Officer at the details below and provide us with full details of your complaint. We will investigate your complaint and respond to you in writing within a reasonable time.
If you are not satisfied with our response, you may complain to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC).
9. Policy Updates
This Privacy Policy may be updated from time to time. The most current version will be posted on our website. We encourage you to review it periodically.
10. Contact Us
If you have any questions or concerns about this Privacy Policy or our privacy practices, please contacus:
Email calectiacounselling@gmail.com
Phone: +61 0493 318 596